House bill proposes cannabis card for medical marijuana in Alabama

State Rep. Mike Ball, a Republican from Huntsville who is a former ABI agent, on Wednesday introduced House Bill 243 that would legalize medical marijuana in Alabama.

“This is about helping sick people,” said Ball, who sponsored bills that became Leni’s Law and Carly’s Law for CBD oil use. He said both those laws need to be extended.

“Carly’s law expires, and we need to extend that,” Ball said. “There need to be clarifications on Leni’s Law.”

Carly’s Law, passed in 2014, authorized a UAB study on using cannabidiol, or CBD oil, to treat seizure disorders. That law expires July 1, 2019. The bill would extend Carly’s Law until Jan. 1, 2021.

“The research is paying off,” Ball said. “Some of the doctors want to do a medical card procedure. I’m doing one bill that will take care of that.”

The law would create an exemption from the crime of marijuana possession for people with medical conditions who qualify for a valid medical cannabis card for the medical use of cannabis, or marijuana.

“We want to give doctors latitude on this,” Ball said.

In 2016, Alabama passed Leni’s Law, allowing patients who suffer seizure disorders or other debilitating medical conditions to use a product that comes from the marijuana plant.

HB 243 also revises Leni’s Law, and authorizes those over age 19 diagnosed with a qualifying condition to obtain a medical cannabis card, authorizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes.

The bill would establish the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission and require the commission to establish and administer a patient registry system that registers patients with qualifying medical conditions. The commission would issue medical cannabis cards and licenses for the cultivation, processing, transportation, manufacturing and sale of cannabis in the state.

“We’ve got to have a legitimate way of regulating cannabis,” Ball said. “This will be strictly regulating it.”

The bi-partisan bill has 20 other co-sponsors, including Democrats Rep. John Rogers and Rep. Juandalynn Givan, and Republican House Speaker Mac McCutcheon. “The speaker’s always been supportive on this,” Ball said.

Some are worried about the political risk of supporting any legislation related to marijuana, Ball said.

“Fear is one of our biggest enemies,” he said. “We don’t need to let fear stop us from helping people. It’s a shame it has taken this long to unlock what this can do medically.”

People worried about drug abusers don’t understand that drug abusers already have access to illegal marijuana, he said. “If people want to abuse, they can go out and buy a bag of dope,” Ball said. “The only people we’re hurting is people who have legitimate medical needs.”

Before the passage of Leni’s Law and Carly’s Law, people with seizures that could be calmed with marijuana treatment suffered, he said. “There were people suffering because they could not get it,” Ball said. “They were not criminals and should not be prosecuted.”